Estimating loss rates of links in smart grids

• US 9,048,664 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2012
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Arya, Vijay, Narayanaswamy, Balakrishnan
• Primary Examiner(s): BHAT, ADITYA S
• Application Number:
  US13/462,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20130297239A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 702/61
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/133 by using digital technique
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/00 Arrangements for measuring time integral of electric power or current, e.g. electricity meters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00017 using optical fiber
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00034 the elements or equipment being or involving an electric power substation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/00 Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/0075 for providing alternative feeding paths between load and source according to economic or energy efficiency considerations, e.g. economic dispatch
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses

Abstract

An apparatus and article of manufacture for estimating loss rates of links in a smart grid include identifying end-to-end passage rates from a source to each of multiple receiver and/or load meters in a smart grid, and estimating a loss in at least one link of the grid by identifying the sparsest solution of link loss rates that matches the end-to-end passage rates. Also, a system includes a memory, a processor coupled thereto, and software modules executing on the processor, including a monitoring module for monitoring power flow of receiver and/or load meters in a smart grid, a measurement collector module for collecting measurements to compute end-to-end passage rates from a source to each receiver and/or load meter, and a processing module for estimating a loss in a link of the grid by identifying the sparsest solution of link loss rates matching the end-to-end passage rates.

Claims

1. An article of manufacture comprising a computer readable storage memory having computer readable instructions tangibly embodied thereon which, when implemented, cause a computer to carry out a plurality of method steps comprising:

identifying an end-to-end passage rate from a source to each of multiple receiver meters and/or load meters in a smart grid based on a time series of end-to-end power-flow measurements for common time intervals at the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters in the smart grid;

estimating a loss rate of each of multiple intermediate links of the smart grid between the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters without utilization of measurements at the multiple intermediate links by identifying the sparsest solution of link loss rates that matches the end-to-end passage rates; and

localizing a faulty link among the multiple intermediate links of the smart grid between the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters based on a comparison of the estimated loss rate of each of the multiple links to an expected loss rate for each of the multiple intermediate links determined based on (i) materials used in the smart grid, (ii) distance of each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters from the source, (iii) topology of the smart grid, (iv) ambient conditions associated with the smart grid, and (v) measurements of loads and supply associated with the smart grid.

2. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein said identifying comprises collecting periodic synchronous measurements to compute a power-flow for each of multiple time intervals.

3. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein the method steps comprise:

ranking links according to loss.

4. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein the method steps comprise sending end-to-end loss rate measurement messages to a server for processing.

5. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein the method steps comprise using meters at a subset of the links in the smart grid.

6. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein the method steps comprise continuously monitoring total power losses occurring on each link in the smart grid.

7. A system for estimating loss rates of links in a smart grid, comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and operative for;

identifying an end-to-end passage rate from a source to each of multiple receiver meters and/or load meters in a smart grid based on a time series of end-to-end power-flow measurements for common time intervals at the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters in the smart grid;

estimating a loss rate of each of multiple intermediate links of the smart grid between the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters without utilization of measurements at the multiple intermediate links by identifying the sparsest solution of link loss rates that matches the end-to-end passage rates; and

localizing a faulty link among the multiple intermediate links of the smart grid between the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters based on a comparison of the estimated loss rate of each of the multiple links to an expected loss rate for each of the multiple intermediate links determined based on (i) materials used in the smart grid, (ii) distance of each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters from the source, (iii) topology of the smart grid, (iv) ambient conditions associated with the smart grid, and (v) measurements of loads and supply associated with the smart grid.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further operative for collecting periodic synchronous measurements to compute a power-flow for each of multiple time intervals.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further operative for ranking links according to loss.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further operative for sending end-to-end loss rate measurement messages to a server for processing.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further operative for using meters at a subset of the links in the smart grid.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further operative for continuously monitoring total power losses occurring on each link in the smart grid.

13. A system for estimating loss rates of links in a smart grid, comprising:

a memory;

at least one processor coupled to the memory; and

at least one distinct software module, each distinct software module being embodied on a tangible computer-readable memory, the at least one distinct software module comprising;

a monitoring module, executing on the processor, for monitoring power flow of multiple receiver and/or load meters in a smart grid;

a measurement collector module, executing on the processor, for interfacing with the monitoring module to collect measurements to compute an end-to-end passage rate from a source to each of multiple receiver meters and/or load meters in a smart grid based on a time series of end-to-end power-flow measurements for common time intervals at the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters in the smart grid;

a processing module, executing on the processor, for estimating a loss rate of each of multiple intermediate links of the smart grid between the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters without utilization of measurements at the multiple intermediate links by identifying the sparsest solution of link loss rates that matches the end-to-end passage rates; and

a processing module, executing on the processor, for localizing a faulty link among the multiple intermediate links of the smart grid between the source and each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters based on a comparison of the estimated loss rate of each of the multiple links to an expected loss rate for each of the multiple intermediate links determined based on (i) materials used in the smart grid, (ii) distance of each of the multiple receiver meters and/or load meters from the source, (iii) topology of the smart, (iv) ambient conditions associated with the smart grid, and (v) measurements of loads and supply associated with the smart grid.